Traveling mold



may 9, 19551 RE v I 2,506,716

TRAVELING MOLD Filed May 19, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r I A} y 9 11959 F. FINNEMORE 2,566,716

TRAVELING MOLD Filed May 19, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAVELING MOLD Frank Finnemore, Theunissen,

Orange Free Application May 19, 1947, Serial No. 748,991 In the Union of South Africa May 27, 1946 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved mould for purposes of facilitating the construction of walls from concrete or like material, particular- 1y a material which sets within a short period.

An object of the present invention is to provide a travelling mould whereby the erection of a wall is facilitated and accomplished in a shorter period of time than has hitherto been possible. A further object is to provide means whereby a straight or circular wall may be readily and correctly constructed by persons unskilled in the trade.

According to the present invention broadly, the mould for the purpose set forth, is characterised by a pair of spaced vertical side wall members which are rigidly secured together in spaced relationship, according to the width of wall to be built, an end wall member movably located between said side wall members so as to co-act therewith plunger fashion, said end wall memberbeingconnected to one end of a pivotted handlever supported from said side wall members, and suitable means being provided at the lower edges of said side wall members for supporting and aligning the said mould on the lower completed course of a wall; the arrangement being such that the rear ends of the side wall members remain in engagement with the sides of the previously moulded wall section of the same course under construction for alignment of said mould for the moulding of the next portion of said course, while 're-tractable inwardly extending projections engage with the top surface of the lower completed course for supporting said mould thereon so that after casting of a freshly moulded wall portion, said retractable projections are capable of being withdrawn to permit the said hand-lever to be drawn forwardly and downwardly to cause the mould to travel forwardly owing to pressure applied by said movable end wall member on said freshly moulded wall portion.

More particularly the side wall members of the mould are rigidly secured together by a pair of spaced inverted U-shaped brackets to the front one of which the hand lever is pivotally secured by means of a suitable bracket. The said retractable projections, associated with the lower edges of the side walls, consist of independent horizontally disposed levers, pivotally mounted for movement about vertical axes and having the shorter ends adapted to be moved to a position in which said ends extend inwardly from the inside surface of the side wall members to form short projections by means of which the mould is supported on the completed lower course. Said supporting projections of said levers are capable of being moved to an inoperative position after the casting of a wall portion by forcing the opposite ends of said levers towards the respective side wall members.

In one form of construction of the present invention, one or a pair of spaced rollers or wheels is or are provided between the front lower edges of the side wall members on which rollers 01 wheels said front end of the mould is movably supported. Said rollers or wheels are arranged to roll on the top surface of a completed course of the wall or on the foundation on which the wall is being erected.

A loose, readily removable rear end wall member is also provided for forming with the side walls. between which it is located and the front removable member a substantially rectangular open topped bottomless mould casing whereby the first block of a course is constructed. Said removable rear end wall member, in one form of construction, is arranged to be located against two horizontally disposed removable locating bars extending transversely through the spaced side wall members. One or more hooklike elements are provided on the outside surface of said rear end wall member, whereby said end wall member is capable of being attached to one of said removable transverse locating bars. This rear end wall member is arranged to be forced against said transverse locating bars by the cementitious material from which the wall is being built when such material is poured into the mould.

Preferably the side wall members are secured to one another in adjustable parallel spaced relationship in order to enable walls of different thicknessed to be constructed. The adjustment of the mould is accomplished by constructing the inverted U-shaped brackets, securing said side wall members together, from two inverted L- shaped parts which are adapted to have their horizontal limbs secured together in adjustable overlapping relationship.

A pair of wheels are located in a readily adjustable spaced relationship to each other on a shaft which is disposed between the front ends of the side wall members adjacent the bottom edges thereof. The said shaft is readily extendible to permit alteration of the spacing of the side wall members and is also readily removable.

In a modified form of construction, particularly adapted for the construction of circular walled structures, such as reservoirs, silos, rondavels and the like, the side wall members of the moulds are curved.

The inner of said curved side wall members of the mould is preferably rigidly secured to the end of a horizontally disposed rigid radius bar which is rotatably mounted by its other end for rotation about a vertical pole positioned in the centre of the proposed building structure. By means of this provision the mould is firmly held and guided at the required distance from the centre pole. The inner end of the radius bar is supported on a collar which is adjustably fixed to the said centre pole.

A chain or like element secured with its top end to a rotatable collar provided adjacent the top end of the centre pole may be provided for connection to the mould to act as a support. Any suitable adjusting means may be provided to arrange for the raising of the mould for constructing the successive courses of a wall. When such a supporting chain is used, the aforesaid wheels and the retractable supporting projections may be dispensed with.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and carried into practice, reference is now made to the accompanying sheets of drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an isometric view of a mould, constructed according to the present invention; and shown in its operative position,

Fig. 2 is an isometric fragmentary View of one of the levers provided with the retractable mould supporting and locating projection;

Fig. 3 is an isometric fragmentary view of the rear end of the mould shown in Fig. 1, showing method of locating the readily removable rear end wall member thereof;

Fig. 4 is' a plan of a mould provided with curved side wall members, for the construction of circular or curved walls; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary pictorial view of a partly constructed circular wall showing the method and apparatus for constructing said wall according to the present invention by the use of the mould of Fig. 4.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the spaced side walls of the mould are denoted by reference numerals l and 2, and the movable lunger-like front end wall by reference numeral 3. The side walls I and 2 are secured together in spaced relationship by bolts 5 passing through the holes 5 provided in the horizontal overlapping limbs 6 of inverted L-shaped brackets. Said brackets 's' have their vertical limbs 8 to the outside surfaces of the side walls I and 2 by means of welding or the like. By a suitable selection of corresponding holes 5 in the overlapping horizontally disposed limbs 6 of brackets l, the spaced location of the side walls I and 2, and consequently the thickness of the walls constructed thereby, may be varied.

A bracket 9 is secured to one of the limbs 6 of the bracket 1 at the front end of the mould. Said bracket 5 extends forwardly and carries on its front end, by means of ahorizontal pivot pin it, a substantially vertically disposed operating hand lever ll. Said hand-lever H has connected to its lower end a link or connecting rod l2, which in turn is connected by means of a pivot pin [3 and bracket M to the front end wall 3.

The removable rear end wall I5, is provided with a pair of hook-like bra'ckets- I6 for'engagement on one of the removable transverse end wall locating bars Il, whereby the said end wall [5 is held in a vertical position. The bars H are arranged to extend through: corres onding holes provided in the rear ends of the side walls I and 2, and may be readily withdrawn therefrom in an axial direction.

Short levers I8 are pivotally secured by vertical pivot pins L! to the lower ends of the vertical limbs 8 of the aforesaid brackets 1, so that the short mould supporting projection 20 of the said levers may be swung to the operative position in which position said projections extend inwardly from the inside surface of the respective side walls I or- 2. In Fig. 2 a lever is shown by full lines in the inoperative position while the operative position is denoted by broken lines. Each mould is preferably provided with four of such levers l8 of which one pair is arranged adjacent the front end of the mould and the other pair towards the rear end thereof as shown in Fig. 1.

The spaced wheels 2| are mounted on a shaft 22 which extends between the front bottom corners of the side walls l and 2. The shaft 22 is preferably of telescopic" construction whereby the spaced distance between the wheels 2! may be varied, depending upon the spacing between the side walls I and 2. Said shaft 22 is also readily removable so that the shaft and wheels 2! may be removed when desired.

In operation the mould is placed in position on a suitable foundation with the rear end walls It in position and with the front wall 3 in its fully extended or forward position. In the fully extended position of the front movable wall 3, the outer surface thereof is adapted to engage against the spaced wheels 2| and a removable locating bar 23, which extends transversely across the front of the mould and is slidably located in corresponding holes provided adjacent the top edges of said side walls I and 2, with the rear end wall l5 in position and the front wall 3 in the fully extended position, concrete or like material is poured into the mould and tamped. As soon as the mould is full the free end 26 of the hand lever H is drawn forwardly and downwardly to cause the front end wall 3 to press against the front end of the moulded mass, but only after the removable rear wall [5 and transverse bars I! have been removed. Due to this action, the travelling mould is forced to move forwardly, to" a predetermined extent which is controlled by the engagement of the lever H with the transverse bar 23. After movement of the mould to the new position; the front end wall 3' is retracted to its fully extended position in the front of the mould for the moulding of thenext or succeedingwall section. When m'eet ing an abutment a thiimbscrew which holds bracket 9 in position is unscrewed, and together with lever H- connecting rod [2 front wall 3 transverse bar 23 wheels and shaft 2! and 22 are all removed. The mould'is pushed by hand up to the abutment and all four short levers I8 are put into operation. After'filling and tamping', these four levers [8 are disengaged and the mould is gripped by the limbs 6, and with a quivering movement-is lifted vertically from the wall and reassembled.

When constructing a course on top of a completed course 25} the levers 18 are brought into operation. By placing said levers It in their operative positions as shown in Fig. 1" (and as shown in broken outline inFigZ- 2)- the mould is supported on the projections 20. The projections 20 remain in their operative positions: during. the casting operation. After filling the-levers [8" are swung to theiri inoperative positions" to permit the movement of mould as described above to its next position for moulding another section of the same course.

In the modified construction particularly suitable for the construction of circular walls, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the side walls Ia and 2a, are of curved shape. In building a circular wall where a centre pole 30 is employed, the inside wall la is fixed to one end of a radius bar 3 I, which has the opposite end pivotally mounted for rotation about the centre pole 30. An adjustable collar 32 on which the bearing-like member of the radius bar 3| is supported is provided on the pole 30, whereby the level at which the mould is adapted to operate may be raised as building progresses. In order to facilitate the construction of a circular wall, the mould is supported by a chain 33 which is fixed by its top end to a rotatable collar 34 provided adjacent the top end of the centre pole 30, while suitable adjusting means, such as a hook 35 and a turnbuckle 36 are provided whereby the changing of the level of operation of the mould may be varied. The said radius bar 3| ensures the spacing of the wall from the centre pole 33. If desired, the Wheels 2| and levers 18 may be retained and used but may, nevertheless, be dispensed with when constructing a circular wall according to the method described.

In order to ensure proper bonding of successive courses, a rigid blade 40 is provided on the rearmost inverted U-shaped bracket 1 (or on any other suitable part) which is arranped to scrape a groove 4| in the upper surface of the Wall section when the mould is moved to a position for casting of the next section. In addition, bonding of adjacent blocks may be improved by providing the front and rear end wall members 3 and 55 with one or more inwardly projecting mould pieces 42 to form vertical bonding grooves in the ends of the moulded sections. In addition said front and rear end walls 3 and are provided, if desired, with holes 43 or other suitable apertures through which reinforcing wires or like elements 44 may be passed for locating said reinforcing members in the wall during the moulding operations.

To ensure proper horizontal location of the mould, a spirit level 45 is fixed to the mould. A second spirit level, arranged perpendicularly to the level 45, may be provided if required.

An inclined plate 46 (shown in broken line in Fig. 1) may be provided on one or both of the side walls I or 2 (or Ia or 2a) to facilitate the pouring of concrete or like material into the mould.

In order to ensure that the mould may be easily moved to the next pouring position, side walls I and 2 are spaced with the lower edges slightly further apart than their top edges and the rear ends slightly further apart than the front ends.

It should be understood that the transverse bars l1 and 23 are of such length that they may be used for the maximum thicknesses of walls capable of being constructed with the adjustable mould, while shaft 22 should also be capable of being used for the various thicknesses of wall constructions. Separate front and rear end walls 3 and I5, are, however, required for the different thicknesses of walls capable of being constructed with the adjustable mould.

What I claim is:

1. A mould for wall construction from cementitious material, comprising spaced vertical side wall members, inverted U-shaped bracket members of adjustable width respectively attached in spaced relationship to said wall members and securing them rigidly in spaced relationship according to the thickness of wall to be built, an end wall member movable between and coacting plunger-wise with said side wall members for bodily advancement of the mould to new positions, and means for supporting the mould by lower regions on an underlying course, said means including wheel means running upon such course to facilitate said mould advancement and a hand lever actuatable pivotal driving linkage operatively located directly between one of said bracket members and the said movable end Wall member and positively interconnecting the same for reciprocating the end wall member both inwardly and outwardly of the side wall members.

2. A mould as claimed in claim 1, stop means for limiting outward movement of said end wall member and provided in part by said wheel means and in part by a member insertable transversely between the side wall members, said member serving also as a stop in the pivotal path of the driving linkage to limit the inward mould advancing movement of said end wall member, and said stop means and driving linkage being removable from the rest of the mould.

FRANK FINNEMORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 882,196 Hahn Mar. 17, 1908 919,687 Bowen Apr. 27, 1909 947,927 Moats Feb. 1, 1910 1,101,484 Clark June 23, 1914 1,400,682 Keogan Dec. 20, 1921 1,632,514 Seller June 14, 1927 2,339,892 Urschel Jan. 25, 1944 

